Program Note:L’étude du Coeur for solo viola (1983, rev. 1987) was composed for and premiered by violist Rosemary Glyde at Tully Hall, at Lincoln Center, NYC. It was inspired by Degas’ painting L’étude des Mains then housed at the Jeu de Paume museum in Paris. The limning of the hands suggested a clarity of design that I tried to capture in the musical line. The substitution of heart for hand reflects my sense of the reach of music inside one’s being, as well as the quick-silver nature of feelings. L’étude du Coeur is a mercurial one-movement work, published by C.F. Peters Corp.–JS

Press Quote:
“Two works by Judith Shatin, her L’étude du Coeur for Solo Viola (1984) and her Doxa for Viola and Piano (a world premiere; both are dedicated to Glyde) proved musically riveting and brilliantly devised for the instrument.”–The Strad